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Board of Directors

Curt Hage

Chairman

Curtis L Hage

Home Federal Bank, Chairman & CEO

Curt received his MBA from the University of South Dakota and graduated from the Graduate School of Savings Institution Management at the University of Texas.  Curt began his career at Home Federal as a computer programmer in 1968 and became president and CEO in 1991.  He became chairman in 1996.

Curt served as Chair for America's Community Bankers (ACB) and has been a director since 1996.  He is also a past director for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines and past chair of the Council of Federal Home Loan Banks.  Curt also served as president of the South Dakota Savings League.

Slater Barr

Director

Slater Barr

Sioux Falls Development Foundation, President

Slater joined the Sioux Falls Development Foundation in August of 2008 as its President. Slater pursues a holistic approach to economic development, incorporating strategies ranging from conventional recruitment to entrepreneurship, from industrial park development to farmland preservation. A seasoned professional, Slater is a Certified Economic Developer and a graduate of Mississippi State University with a BS in Electrical Engineering and of the prestigious Advanced Management Development Program in Real Estate from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He has also earned a Certificate in Real Estate Development from the Urban Land Institute.

 

Evan Nolte

Director

Evan Nolte

Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce, President & CEO

Evan joined the Sioux Falls Chamber staff in 1979 as its Executive Vice President and was appointed President and CEO in 1992. Starting his chamber management career in 1965 in Nebraska City, NE he also served as Executive Vice President of chamber of commerce and economic development organizations in Mason City IA, St. Joseph MO and Yankton SD before coming to Sioux Falls.

Community and professional involvements include serving as a member of the Forward Sioux Falls V Joint Venture Management Committee, SD Economic Development Council and American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) and is currently a board member of the Sioux Empire Housing Partnership, the South Dakota Technology Business Center, and the Downtown Sioux Falls Development Committee.

In 1997, Evan was named Business Citizen of the Year by the Sioux Falls Sales and Marketing Executives (SMEI) organization.

 

Carl Rapp

Director

Carl Rapp

ADP, VP of Data Center and Facilities Operation

Carl began his career with Automatic Data Processing, Inc. in January of 2006 as Vice President of Data Center and Facilities Operation of Data Center 1 and Data Center 2. Carl came to ADP with 37 years of data processing experience, including 16 years as Senior Vice President of the Citibank Bankcards Data Centers Operation in South Dakota and Nevada and 12 years as Vice President of Administration and Data Center Operation for Midland National Life Insurance.

Throughout his career Carl has relocated, refurbished and consolidated multiple Data Centers. He has been a member of the Uptime Institute for the past 12 years. Carl is active with the YMCA Tri-State Committee and South Dakota Special Olympics.

 

Dr. James Robl

Director

Dr. James Robl

Hematech, Founder Retired

Dr. Robl began his career as a professor at the University of Massachusetts in 1985.  In addition to his teaching efforts he conducted research on animal cloning and genetic engineering technologies.   In 1995 Dr. Robl became interested in the applications of embryo cloning and genetic engineering technologies and co-founded several biotechnology companies to pursue these applications.  In 2000, he left his position at the University of Massachusetts to become the president and chief scientific officer of Hematech, one of the companies he co-founded.  Under Dr. Robl’s leadership, Hematech grew to a company with 80 employees and capabilities for launching human therapeutics into clinical evaluation along with maintaining its status as a world leader in genetic engineering research.  Dr. Robl retired from Hematech in 2009 but still consults on occasion and retains his interest in science and the biotechnology industry.

Burke Blackman

Secretary/Treasurer

Burke Blackman

Egger Steel Company, President

Burke received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his MBA from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  He worked for a venture capital firm in Boulder and a telecommunications startup company in Denver before joining Egger Steel Company in 2002.  At Egger Steel, Burke was vice president of operations and vice president of finance before becoming president in 2008.

Burke serves on the boards of the Central Fabricators Association, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and the Sioux Falls Arts Council.  He is also a member of the Sioux Empire United Way youth development community impact team.

Steve Statz

Director

Stephen R. Statz, R.Ph., MBA, FACHE

Avera Health, Sr. Vice President of Business Development

Steve Statz has been the VP of Development for Avera Health in Sioux Falls since 2006. Prior to joining Avera Health, Steve was the Sr. Vice President of Hospital Operations at Avera McKennan for four years. Previously, Steve was President of Statz Companies, Inc. a family business with five retail pharmacies and six home medical equipment stores as well as President of Tel-Drug, Inc., a mail order pharmacy business, which he sold to Cigna Companies in October of 1993. 

            Steve holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Creighton University and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Sioux Falls.  He is also a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. Steve is active in a number of professional organizations and currently serves on the following boards and committees:   Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Board, First Bank and Trust Board, South Dakota Technology Business Center Board, South Dakota Biotech Association Board, South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organization Council on Acute Care, First Tee of South Dakota Board Liaison, South Dakota Special Olympics Board Liaison, and the Sioux Falls Community Foundation Development Committee.

Sherri Rotert

Vice Chair

Keith Severson, Jr.

Director

Keith Severson, Jr.

Eide Bailly LLP, Partner

Keith received his BA degree in Accounting and Business Administration from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota in 1979. He started in public accounting and then worked in industry before joining Eide Bailly LLP in 1987. At Eide Bailly, he is a past chairman and current member of the firm’s Board of Directors.

Keith is active in a number of professional organizations and currently serves on the following boards and committees: Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce Board Member and Treasurer, Member of Chamber Community Appeals Committee, Board Member of the Joint Venture Board of Forward Sioux Falls, and South Dakota Technology Business Center Board Member and Treasurer.